An Appeal to Pick Up 24 Panels in Your Comic Store Today

Paul Swain writes for Bleeding Cool,

I’m Paul Swain. You don’t know me from anything.

I don’t speak on behalf of anyone but me.

When I was a youth, it was long before the geeks inherited the Earth. Or began to. I was a shy, little, nerdy outsider then, so I’m a big, shy, nerdy outsider now. Never learned to assume I was cool, or wear that comfy skin of confidence and self-belief some do. (As patrons of this site, if you’re old enough, that’s not gonna be an alien state to you either, obviously.)

So, no point fronting: when Rich gave me the opportunity to write a few words about ‘24 PANELS – AN ANTHOLOGY COMIC TO AID PTSD NEEDS OF SURVIVORS OF THE GRENFELL TOWER FIRE‘, I can’t pretend the prospect of posting this didn’t terrify me.

I generally prefer doodling away without attention, my drawing speaking for me, and although I’m click-clicking away at a keyboard with rambling waffle to sell this book to you now: I’ve actually contributed a silent/pantomime piece inside it. So my words are fairly rare and if they don’t work for you… do your best to imagine ones that do, and me and you’ll take joint credits for those instead. Ta. Good work, us. *High five*.

This is too good a comic and too good a cause for me not to take the opportunity to shout about it, though. I’m up for whatever it takes to encourage you to pick up this book-

So I’m gonna briefly do that sales/blogging thing of building rapport and ‘letting you in’… but if you’re only here for the official details you can skip straight to the 7th chunk of text- the bit that starts with ‘Here we are, then’- and nobody’d blame you.

24 PANELS, as well as simply being a great comic, is a fundraising effort for survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire in London living with Post Trauma.
People often devote their time to projects supporting a cause because of personal connections. While my relationship with PTSD in particular is a complicated story for a more complicated day- a story I don’t want to overshadow those this book’s in aid of-

I do know that as brilliant as the NHS is in the UK (and that can’t be stressed enough, ever), it struggles finding the means to deal with the complex, ongoing needs of trauma recovery.

A few talking sessions- maybe enough to begin creating some trust and comfort and sketching out the scenario that’s created issues- only skims the surface of something as intricate as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. And, to massively simplify: frankly, a great deal of mental health care that’s available if you’re not of some decent means has to be focused on ensuring you’re not at immediate risk of taking your life, rather than being able to coax a better quality of one. A not uncommon experience is that the people helping are marvellous, but they’re not well funded.

Although issues relating to our mental health have remained strangely unspoken for too long, I’ve no doubt plenty of you, dear readers, have a strong awareness of PTSD and a relationship with it yourselves. Tragedy isn’t scarce and struggles to overcome trauma are perfectly understandable; especially when we all have our own Kryptonite. What might crush you, I might brush off and what stops me managing very basic functioning might be something you’d laugh off- but it doesn’t take a stretch of vision to appreciate that those closest to the Grenfell Tower fire, enduring a tragedy and that which followed while under public scrutiny, will have been left with psychological scars that are entirely deserving of a bit of help.

And that help’s simply not affordable if you belong to the same class that means you’re in a position where a tragedy like this could occur.
If you’re not financially comfortable enough in the UK for your voice to be deemed worthy, you won’t simply be ignored: but deemed an irritant and a nuisance, worthy of ridicule by politicians that’ll see you as inconvenient at best, media ‘provocateurs’ and daytime and ‘reality’ TV producers who sense defenceless prey like the playground bullies they are, and anybody above you in the pile who just wants someone to blame and scapegoat.

So you’ll be the last to get the scraps of help leftover, if there’s any.

The frustration of dealing with authorities and systems that dehumanise or see you as an obstacle when you simply need help unquestionably exacerbates mental health conditions, which is a situation that doesn’t remotely benefit any society.

It’s difficult not to be angry about the situation that’s made this project necessary and some of the wider issues relating to it and what they say about us and where we are; but what I’ve loved the most about the whole planning of this book has been that it’s focused on creating positivity and unity now.

PTSD can make it particularly difficult to see any future, especially a positive one, but this book can genuinely contribute to hope and change and support in lives where it’s truly needed.

I’m no woke saviour, every human’s problematic, but I try to do what I can in life- which ain’t much and ain’t enough…
in this situation, though, enough for now, from you, could simply be buying a great comic.

You can personally gain by getting a brilliant bargain of a book, but also do something brilliant for people the same as you: just trying to find their way in this messy life which comes with no proper paths.

Here we are, then: the official business…

There are demands for your hard earned everywhere, obviously, especially at this time of year; so whatever the cause this project aids: first and foremost, I know you wanna be sure you’re getting a fine product. And you are.

Everything on these pages is done with passion and care. This is a book made with love by some of the best talent in the industry. (And me.)
Featuring Alan Moore, Al Ewing, Sara Kenney, Alex De Campi, Laurie Penny, Paul Cornell, Dilraj Mann, Antony Johnston, Lizz Lunney, Leigh Alexander, Dan Watters, Ram V., Melinda Gebbie, Doug Braithwaite, Caspar Wijngaard, Ted Brandt, Ro Stein, Gavin Mitchell, Rachael Smith, Robin Hoelzemann, Tom Humberstone, Eshrieka Price, Mike Garley, Sarah Gordon and more, more, more, plus that amazing cover by Tula Lotay and Dee Cunniffe.

And often the people ‘behind the scenes’ don’t get the credit they deserve- While, in this case, this book could never have happened without them and the spectacular degree of their hard work, Kieron Gillen, Rhona Martin and Steve Thompson are all incredibly lovely people, too.
You should buy this thing.

24 PANELS AN ANTHOLOGY COMIC TO AID PTSD NEEDS OF SURVIVORS OF THE GRENFELL TOWER FIRE is available in comic shops now and available in book stores and online from November 27th 2018.

If you’re about in London on December 6th, there’s a launch party from 7-9pm at Gosh Comics which I’m hoping will be embedded with a link HERE. (Sweet- It works!) Come and say hello and get your book signed- or if you’re not around, you can pre-order a signed copy from the same page.